Short Stories Books

There is a story in this collection called "The Patchwork Monkey". I first read this story when I was in 4th grade and it scared me so good(bad) that I still remember it to this day and I am 34 now. Excellent scary stuff!

i read this book when I was in 2d grade, when my brother in 5th grade brought it home from the library. I read the patchwork monkey, and it scared the heck out of me!! and that picture of the monkey. EWWW! I was searching online for several days to figure out the name of this book. (Patchwork monkey kept sending me to crafts sites). Any a fantastic book, very scary. Would love to get a copy (used are a bit pricey) PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REPUBLISH AN ANNIVERSARY EDITION!

i read this book when I was in 2d grade, when my brother in 5th grade brought it home from the library. I read the patchwork monkey, and it scared the heck out of me!! and that picture of the monkey. EWWW! I was searching online for several days to figure out the name of this book. (Patchwork monkey kept sending me to crafts sites). Anyway, a fantastic book, very scary. Would love to get a copy (used are a bit pricey) PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REPUBLISH AN ANNIVERSARY EDITION!

A short collection of horror stories for children, beautifully illustrated by the great Rod Ruth, probably best known for his magnificent work in the "Album of..." series (Album of Dinosaurs, Album of Sharks, Album of Whales, etc.)


There are nine stories contained here, yet the one that seems to have had the most impact on young readers is the first, "The Patchwork Monkey", by Beverly Butler.

And rightfully so. Many of the other stories are fantastic, some truly science fiction, but "The Patchwork Monkey" dwells in a world any child can relate too... an annoying sibling, an adult who plays favorites, an evening at home alone while the parents are out, and a creepy doll that excites the imagination.

Even though the scares hit home, I doubt most readers caught all the nuances of this story as a child. I know I didn't:

Molly being scolded by her mother for watching a "witch" television program; Molly spinning the story of Mrs. Welles and her parasitic doll Patches seemingly out of nowhere, then pondering that Mrs. Welles had communicated that information to her through "vibrations"; the fact that Mrs. Welles gave the murderous doll not to Molly, but to the "favored" brother Jason; and how ultimately the doll actually BECOMES the brother for a brief instant...

It's too bad this book has become a rare artifact instead of a common offering on store shelves. It's also too bad no one has had the insight to develop this story as a short film or even an animated piece.

I FINALLY found a copy of this on ebay. Keep looking, and eventually you can catch one for less than $100.

I read "The Patchwork Monkey" when I was 7, and slept with my parents for a month. It scared me so bad that my mom had the librarian get rid of the book. We've spent the past 2 years trying to track down an affordable copy, and now that I have it, it's everything I remember it to be. Doesn't really *scare* me now, but is still pretty creepy. I count this book as my inspiration to be a writer. I can only hope that one day I can do to some other kid what this book did to me.

Last night I uncovered a family legend and found that James Oliver Curwood is my Great, Great Uncle; and a direct uncle to Marguerite Gaylord Tate the author of Twelve Walked Away, a true story about her and her son, my grandfather, crashing the Alps due to a navigation mistake after WW II. I know it seems far and almost unbelievable that I just now find this amazing discovery, but it is true.

I stayed up until eleven o'clock reading into one of his books, and I found it well written and full of wisdom.

I thought this book was wonderful. It should be up there with the best of them, like Jack London's "Call of the Wild". It tells the story of a wolf cub seperated from its mother, and the adventures in the wilderness it encounters. It has very descriptive details and shows us all the true meaning of love and devotion.

This book is definitely one of my my favorite books. Even though it seems a bit long, if you get caught up in stories like I do, you'll wish this book is longer. This book is beautifully written and such a great book in so many ways. You have to read this book. The author of this book is a great writer and this book will not let you down for action, adventure, and many other emotions. READ THIS BOOK! IT'S GREAT!

This is the story of a wolf/dog named Baree. Soon after he is born, he is separated from his "parents". Baree then begins the quest of having to survive on his own in the harsh envirionment of the Canadian wilderness. As Baree grows older, he has encounters with a near sighted owl, he befriends a bear,and tries to make friends with a colony of beavers. Then Baree comes up against his most perplexing animal,.....Man! Baree quickly wants the companionship that Willow(a beautiful young woman) offers. He follows her everywhere and has a strong bond with her that cannot be broken. He will do anything to protect her, and that includes keeping her safe from her family's enemy, a evil man called the Factor of Lac Bain.
The writer of this book expertly describes the feelings and thoughts going through the mind of the young Baree, and through out the book, we root for him all through hisd triumphs and tradigies. The wilderness is described beautifully and also becomes a "character" of the story as well.
This book is well written, easy to read , and holds the readers interest all the way till the satisfying conclusion.

This book is fantastic!It follows the story of a young half wolf, half dog pup who is accidentally seperated from his mother. He learns to survive in the harsh Canadian wilderness and meets friends and foe. He eventually comes to trust humans. The author obviously has a great understanding of animals as he explains in words exactly what the animals feel. The way this book is written is almost unexplainable-right up there with other fine authors such as Jack London. A must-read for any one who loves animals or has an understanding for them!

This Dover edition - titled The Beast in the Jungle and Other Stories - provides three short stories that are among the finest of their genre, although defining the genre itself is not without difficulty. Only The Jolly Corner might be classed a ghost story. These superb studies of obsession might be best described as nuanced, subtle, and intellectually haunting, and are among the best short works of Henry James.

The Alter of the Dead (1895): George Stransom "had perhaps not more losses than most men, but he counted his losses more: he hadn't seen death more closely, but had in a manner felt it more deeply."

The Beast in the Jungle (1903): John Marcher had from his earliest time, deep within him, "the sense of being kept for something rare and strange, possibly prodigious and terrible, that was sooner or later to happen" and he had in his bones the foreboding and conviction that it might overwhelm him. Despite its suspense and deep sense of despair, this classic tale has been described as sluggish and overly ornate. Be that as it may, this foreboding tale is memorable.

The Jolly Corner (1908): Returning after decades in Europe to his vacant, empty home in New York, Spencer Brydon would in the gathering dusk "wander and wait, linger and listen, feel his fine attention, never in his life so fine, on the pulse of the great vague place: he preferred the lampless hour and only wished he might have prolonged each day the deep crepuscular spell."

I have read this collection on three, perhaps four occasions. The works of Henry James, like that of William Faulkner, continue to improve with subsequent readings, undoubtedly the mark of great literature. For the reader unfamiliar with the writings of Henry James, this little collection would be an excellent introduction to his challenging prose. I highly recommend this Dover edition.

In this basically two person novella, John Marcher, believes that something, not necessarily wonderful, maybe even terrible-but something-would eventually spring on him unawares, like a beast in the jungle, and ultimately determine his fate. May Bartram, his friend throughout these many years, agrees to wait with Marcher to observe his destiny.

_The Beast in the Jungle_, in its quiet, psychologically incisive, and intimate way, is the tragedy of a man who is too passive, too timid, too self-absorbed and self-centered to attempt even in the slightest manner to take life in his own hands to shape his future. Marcher is certain that May Bartram can provide him with all the answers to the impending great event, but he only succeeds in slowly draining the life from her. May Bartram, patient and wise, is the true hero of the piece. It is only at the end that the truth is revealed to Marcher. The jungle finally becomes empty, and poor pitiful, ineffectual John Marcher never even witnessed it.

Henry James has always been one of my favorite writers even though many readers are put off by his very stylized writing. When I first read "The Beast in the Jungle", I must admit that I was completely blown away by its powerful message. This is a type of mystery that never loses its power although you already know the ending. There is no way to describe certain moments in the story that give us a glimpse into the very soul of these characters that manage to become real to us throughout this story. Marcher's incredible egotism blinds him from seeing the truth in his life and thereby destroying not only his own life, but also destroying the life of the woman who could have helped him learn how to live before it was too late. Henry James was a master writer and to quote the words of T.S. Eliot: "Henry James is a difficult writer for English readers because he is American, difficult for Americans because he is European, and I ignore if he is possible for other readers." Yes, Henry James can be a challenge for many readers, but the reward is all worth the effort.

I have never read Henry James before because I have always been told that he is not worth reading. My own teachers have told me that, but they obviously didn't read like I do because I found this story nothing but delightful. Henry James faintly resembles the writing of Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre. I see the resemblance in James' use of detail, not only in physical descriptions but also in the portrayals of capturing what is happening in the minds of his characters. This can be tedious if a reader is looking for plot, but my own conviction is that good fiction is driven by character, and anything that happens within a plot happens consequently to how characters act and/or think. "The Beast in the Jungle" revolves around only two characters and how their relationship and convictions affect each other's lives. The beauty in this story is the reality within it-a realization of time and how and what it should be spent on. James focuses on human relationships and shows the flaws that can occur within those relationships. John Marcher's selfishness, for instance, keeps him at a distance from May Bartram and her love for him: "Marcher had been visited by one of his occasional warnings against egotism. He had kept up, he felt . . . his consciousness of the importance of not being selfish". This selfishness, which Marcher believes he suppresses fairly well, is what turns out to be part of the Beast he is seeking; the selfishness is what keeps him from loving Mary Bartram simply because he wants her only for what she can do for him: ". . . he had never felt before, the growth of a dread of losing her by some catastrophe . . . that yet wouldn't at all be the catastrophe: partly because she had almost of a sudden begun to strike him as more useful to him than ever yet". I enjoyed "The Beast in the Jungle" so much because it took me into the mind of a person who grows throughout the story and learns something that perhaps every human being needs to learn throughout the course of his/her life. I don't find Henry James tiresome or dull at all; in fact, to myself of course, his writing is quite the contrary. I look forward to reading more of him.

Henry James' Beast in the Jungle is surely not for everyone, there is little action in the novella (I suppose that is the point actually) and the title could give readers the wrong idea. John Marcher, the protagonist, is re-aquainted with May Bartram, a woman he knew ten years earlier, who remembers his odd secret- Marcher is seized with the belief that his life is to be defined by some catastrophic or spectacular event, lying in wait for him like a "beast in the jungle."

May decides to take a flat nearby in London, and to spend her days with Marcher curiously awaiting what fate has in stall for John. Of course Marcher is a self-centered egoist, believing that he is precluded from marrying so that he does not subject his wife to his "spectacular fate". So he takes May to the theatre and invites her to an occasional dinner, while not allowing her to really get close to him for her own sake. As he sits idly by and allows the best years of his life to pass, he takes May down as well, until the denouement wherein he learns that the great misfortune of his life was to throw it away, and to ignore the love of a good woman, based upon his preposterous sense of foreboding.

James' language can be a bit stilted at times, and some of the dialogue may strike modern readers as out-dated. However James was a master of the novella format, and with The Beast in the Jungle he has written an engrossing psychological drama, which left me speechless at the very end. Pick up a collection that also includes The Turn of the Screw and Daisy Miller if you haven't already read them, they are accessible (more so than some of James' full length novels) and great examples of the format's potential.

The seven stories comprising Shaila Abdullah's Beyond the Cayenne Wall are very consistently written and virtually dripping with poignancy. Ms. Abdullah describes the personal tragedies and conundrums faced by Pakistani women living in a very repressive society. The author has created fictional scenarios based on her real experiences and those of other Pakistani women she has known in the town of Karachi. From her current residence in Austin, Texas, Shaila gives the reader a ride in the front row seat of the emotional rollercoaster reflecting the plight of many Pakistanis. The text contains numerous mentions of food items common in Pakistan, and a convenient glossary has been included in the back of the book. With its cover graphics created by the author, Beyond the Cayenne Wall presents a nice, touching, professional introduction to the author's home culture.

Although it is an exquisite little package, Cayenne Wall leaves a bit to be desired in its proofreading. The typo count is far too high to honestly earn five stars in a review. If the book had contained four-hundred pages, the comma omissions, etc., would have been acceptable, but anyone should be able to present a clean product of one-fourth that size.

Aside from the typos, Beyond the Cayenne Wall is an outstanding first book from a new author. The stories are carefully composed and memorable in style. The individual predicaments these characters find themselves in will stay with you long after you have finished reading this short book. These women were each backed into a corner by an unrelenting culture in a land of familiarity to the author. Shaila Abdullah has definitely done her homework in the accurate cultural translation of reality into fiction.

Rebeccasreads highly recommends BEYOND THE CAYENNE WALL as a beautifully written although very hard to read collection of stories that will keep you totally absorbed.

While its cover image may intimate things exotic, soft & gentle, all the stories are raw & unbridled in how they get to the core of these women's emotions & how their cultures' traditions chafe on their hearts & souls.

The descriptions of the land these women love are luminous & yet we quickly become privy to the terrible culture clashes & the despair & sheer brutality of their everyday lives.

Beyond The Cayenne Wall is the highly personal and deeply intimate collection of author Shaila Abdullah's conceptual short-stories. Abdullah presents the cultural chasm between the east and the west with her intuitive writings of individuals finding themselves despite their socially set barriers that they inspirationally overcome throughout the eye-opening stories of fate, alienation and solitude. Beyond The Cayenne Wall is a superb read for students of literature, culture and sociology because of its deftly written engagement into the world and life of the alienated foreigner.

Beyond The Cayenne Wall tells 7 short stories of women we think we've seen, but never really heard about. Shaila Abdullah introduces us to Pakistani society on a number of levels. She tells stories about urban women, rural women, pampered women, hardscrabble women, educated women. Ms. Abdullah uses simple but powerful imagery interspersed with Urdu to generate the inclusive quality of "being there". At the root of the stories are the cultural burdens women bear. Although the setting appears exclusively eastern, oddly enough, the struggles, disappointments, joys, and sorrows of these women transcend borders. Pending marriage, difficult conception, in-laws, and tradition are issues we can all relate to, and doing so through the prism of eastern culture only makes us richer for it.

I truly enjoyed this collection of short stories, and devoured them in one setting. Reading about the determination of Tannu, the fierce protectiveness of Dhool, the revelation of Minnah, the stoicism of Shiwali, the persistence and horrible discovery of Minal, the grief of Mansi, and the redemption of Nyassa brought all of this into sharp relief. In today's climate, we often see the eastern world against the backdrop of war and conflict. We never see the more mundane aspects of everyday life that fuel so much of the other. What I appreciated most was the view into everyday life that tends to be overshadowed and outright forgotten in today's political climate.

Although the women are not always successful, they are always triumphant. Even when circumstance conspires against them, and fortune turns its back, each of these women demands and receives small victories. Be it the mockery of a quickly hidden glance, the silence of hidden passion, the damning knowledge of a bully's frailty, each story illustrates that sometimes the best part of victory is-modesty. It has not been since college that I remembered reading about feminism around the world. Sometimes, it is very easy to believe that our kind of feminism is the only kind. Feminism isn't only about working outside the home and sitting in front of the classroom. Sometimes, its as much about what is still going on inside the home, and what kind of classroom. Sometimes it is about bouncing back as opposed to striking first. I think these stories make an excellent addition to any woman's library, and I heartily recommend them.

Reviewed By: Angela Hailey, Black Butterfly Review

Abdullah weaves the lives of women living in Pakistan with contrast to the Western culture. She captures the inner feelings with great depth. "Beyond the Cayenne Wall" is able to portray each woman's struggles and then find her own inner peace within the societal paramenters.

Abdullah writes well as she articulates each character and draws the reader into the realm of the woman's life.

I am buried up to my nose in work but I had to come in and give my review on this one. These are great great stories, written by a man who believed in things he told you about and knows how to tell them good. I have not even completed the book, but oh man, it is so good... "By the waters of San Tadeo", "Beyond the great snow mountains", "Meeting at Fallmouth", "The money punch" and "The gravel Pit"...they will leave you to wonder at the versatile man who wrote them and the fact that he is known as a "great western writer" ? Western, my foot! He is a GREAT WRITER - Period ! And oh, for the fans of Jeffery Archer (I am one too) The Gravel Pit,The Money Punch and Meeting at Fallmouth will delight you for sure, although Louis always has his flavour in what ever he writes ( and I am glad of that) And for hard core louis fans - it has a Ward McQueen story too.

I started with Louis L'Amour when I was 13. I'm 50 now and he still gives me immense satisfaction. His books, all of them, grace my small home library and they are somewhat dog-eared from the many times I've re-read them. "Beyond" is a small compilation of short stories that are pure enterntainment and L'Amour at his best. He takes you to places you will probably never visit, introduces you to people and circumstances of intensity and all in the comfort of your favorite reading chair. I look forward to the promised release of several new works.

This review refers to "Beyond The Great Snow Mountains"(Short Story Collection) by Louis L'Amour.

L'Amour fans, this short story collection is fabulous. Ten captivating classic stories that will have you turning the pages, as fast as you can. Each story is a fresh new experience. Adventure, Mystery, Intrigue, Suspense, Action and even a little romance. The action takes place on land, in the air, and on the water. And yes, some Western adventure as well. The main characters and heroes are always charismatic. Some are even based on real life adventurers he knew.

L'Amour's own turn at being a miner and a boxer(as told in the Afterword by Beau L'Amour), is put to good use in some stories revolving around those subjects. The mining story "Under The Hanging Wall", is a suspense packed murder mystery, with all the usual suspects, and the action taking place in an abandoned and dangerous part of a mine. "The Money Punch" is the story of a young fighter with lessons to learn.

In "By the Waters of San Tadeo" and "Beyond the Great Snow Mountains", women are the main character and heroines of the stories. One has a woman trying to escape danger and the other a woman torn between the Tribe she has become a part of and a chance to go back to her home.

The stories range from 10 pages to 40 pages. And in that short time, L'Amour manages to tell great tales. Other works included are "Meeting at Falmouth", :Roundup In Texas", "Sideshow Champion", "Crash Landing", "Coast Patrol", and "The Gravel Pit". A Dedication, and Afterward by Beau L'Amour and a short informative, "About Louis L'Amour" is also included in the book.

I was delighted with every story in this collection. Louis L'Amour fans will love this one.

Enjoy....Laurie

It has been some time since I read BEYOUND THE GREAT SNOW MOUNTAINS, but I checked to see what I wrote on the first page of the book, something I always do when I finish one. This is what I found " some excellant stories" to be excellant in my opinion a story (or book) must have a good plot, good characters and get to the end without losing the reader. These stories I will read again and again.

This as a gift to a guy that reads EXCLUSIVELY WESTERNS because the giver thought that's what it was by the name of the writer. But danged if I didn't find these stories more of a treat than some westerns I'd read lately. Some of these writers do spread out to a dukes mixture don't they? Somebody said they thought Steven King or one of these other goresmiths was writing a western..? No doubt set at Tombstone or somewhere a lot of corpses can rezarrect...

I had the pleasure of taking classes from Dr. Seamon and I have to say, I learned more about creative writing from her than I ever imagined I would. I thought I could write; I was wrong. I had the concepts but she really inspired me to dig deeper. In reading much of her works in progress, I was so excited to pick up a copy of Body Work, a fantastic read for women and men alike. I recommend this collection not only for pleasure reading, but also for those who teach short story writing courses. Enjoy the readings!

Body Work is an amazing compilation of a strong woman's short stories. It should be every woman's responsibility to pick up a copy of this book. Hollis really conveys the unsung strength of women everywhere. I have taken a course with Hollis, and she is a true woman, just as those she conveys in her work.

This collection of stories is nothing short of amazing. Seamon has a wonderful voice...feminine and powerful. In eloquent strokes she paints beautiful views into everyday lives. The women, born to these pages, are real and flawed...perfect because of their imperfections. We see the best and worst of ourselves reflected back as, however brief the encounter, we bond with the characters. The stories could not be more different from one another, thus offering a wonderful variety. However, there is a common thread which binds the book together nicely. We witness defining moments, large and small, in the lives of these various women. We see how day to day life presents us with a multitude of choices and we are privledged to see where simple decisions lead these characters. I thoroughly recommend buying this book.

This book is about being real and most importantly being honest with your self. These stories aren't riddled in self scrutiny or sugar coated with happy endings. I feel like I just took a wonderful tour of many women who are trying to reconcile themselves and carve their own paths through life. The one continuous theme is that they are not willing to let themselves down, despite a wide range of consequences.

My only criticism is the nipple on the cover. I've been walking around covering it up. It makes the impression that it is a book of erotica.

Body Work by Hollis Seamon is wonderful. My favorite is "Body Snatchers: the travel game." I loved the fact that Heather didn't know who Jimmy Hoffa was and Cree did. Cree is a great character with her black fingernails, black outfit and one steel box for a suitcase. I loved the image of her black fingernails draped over the seat. At first I didn't like prim and proper Heather but then I had sympathy for her because of losing her twin sister. I had the same feeling for the professor, but I liked her in the end. She was hurting also. I liked the ending when Cree and Heather encouraged Hope to meet her lost love. GREAT BOOK!

The review's title is, of course, a paraphrase of one of the best stories in this collection, one written when Borges was already old and wiser than ever. His wisdom is a disenchanted one, but then again he was never an exactly cheerful writer. His scope is infinite, as he deals not only with far distant lands but also with entirely imaginary ones. One of the most peculiar characteristics of Borges, acutely present in this slim volume, is his constant mixing up of reality with fantasy, of different epochs, and of true and imaginary identities.

The best example of this is the first tale, "The Other", an encounter between the young and the old Borges. Both are sitting on a bench by a river, but the young one is in Geneva in the twenties, while the old is in Cambridge, Mass., in 1969. Their conversation is friendly but distant, and it is simply impossible to read it without imagining what you would say to your younger self if you had a chance to talk to him. All the stories are good -vintage Borges-, but some of my favorites are: "Utopia of a Tired Man", a chilling encounter with a man from the distant future; "The Night of Gifts", a gaucho story of learning about sex and death in a single night; "There are more things" (English title in the original), an homage to H.P. Lovecraft; "The Book of Sand", about an infinite book.

This mature collection is a strong sample of Borges's best qualities: concision, brevity, high-octanage imagination, philosophical profundity without pretentiousness.

The Book of Sand has thirteen stories - an accidental or fatal number, the author tells us, but not magical - and they all, more or less, deal with the same theme. While, in each and every story, there is a mystery, an enigma, a puzzle that may or may not be solved, the answer is always the same. Borges wants us to look beyond the artifices of our lives, beyond the linguistic, economic, political and religious restrictions we have given ourselves, and see the world for what it actually is.

One of the - many and varied - literary techniques that Borges uses is that of the literary reference. Always, the narrator uses an obscure reference to better make a point, or to expand the depth of a scene or image, using Tacitus, Sigurd and Brynhild, Ibsen, more. Yet, nestled quietly in between real authors and works are fictional creations, authors that are clever combinations of existing writers, works with titles that are pure fancy. The point that Borges is making is, I believe, that, with the passing of time and the simultaneously corrupting and enhancing efforts of language and culture, it does not matter if these works ever existed or not. To be affected by them it enough, to make a point or drive home an idea is enough. Four hundred years on, invoking the 'fighting windmills' phrase, does it matter if Cervantes ever really existed? Does it matter if I have or have not read the exploits of the man from La Mancha? In Borges world, the answer is no.

In one story, 'Utopia of a Tired Man', Eudoro Acevedo is transplanted from his home in the 20th century, to a place many thousands of years into the future. He meets a man, who explains the fall and rise again of mankind, who reveals the future history until 'now', when everything is different. He explains:

'The planet was populated by collective ghosts - Canada, Brazil, the Swiss Congo, and the Common Market. Almost no one knew anything of the history that preceded those platonic entities, but, of course, they knew every last detail of the most recent congress of pedagogies, or of imminent breakdowns in diplomatic relations, or of statements issued by Presidents...These things were read to be forgotten, for, only hours later, other trivialities would blot them out.'

This lengthy quote is perhaps Borges' most blatant and clear attack on the culture in which he lived. He quite obviously has a love of nature and literature and life, and bemoans the seeming lack of interest that most other people display. While the rest of the story is an interesting look at the future, it is clearly fanciful, and not an ideal world for Borges. Rather, it was written to make us think, something we just don't do enough.

The stories, composed when Borges was over 70, are for the most part an exercise in memory. A narrator of one - Ulrike - will remember a fleeting love. Another story has a group of men conversing on the problem of knowledge, which inspires an old man, 'a bit lost in metaphysics', to share a story of his youth. This is fairly typical for Borges, but is especially poignant here. The characters are remembering sad or strange or horrifying times, and nearly every single narrator mentions needing to share the tale before they die. Borges, at seventy, probably shared this opinion.

I have not taken the time to summarise Borges' short stories, for to do so would be to lose the point. Borges is capable of compressing a vast myriad of ideas and thoughts into a seven page short story, and to further reduce such themes and suggestions would be to lose them. Instead, I have commented upon what they meant to me, and what, I believe, they meant to him. Perhaps I am wrong, perhaps not, but that is the genius of Borges. He is infinitely interpretable, and should be: For each of us, there is an interpretation that fits, and for each of us, it is the right one.

There is no book Borges has read that he himself has not written. In essence he is Literature and all he ever does is read himself to himself.But because he likes games and because the world has a certain intractability it is not enough for him to lose himself in such fantasies. Instead he must sit down and sentence by sentence, paragraph by paragraph write these masterpieces. And so he has here written a number of small masterworks each of which gives more temptation to thought than do whole libraries of many other writers. In the story for instance 'The Other' in which two Borges' one a young man and another an aging Borges meet the conservation lingers upon who is dreaming who, and whether the real Borges is either of them. We cannot know , but as readers we can take tremendous pleasure and interest in the work of this maker of ficciones and poemes who is always rereading and rewriting himself .
These small pieces all done after Borges was seventy and already blind open the mind and the eyes to one of the great worlds of modern literature. Who reads this book reads a hombre and a very great writer indeed.

Trying to full describe the writings of Jorge Luis Borges is like trying to explain exactly why Leonardo da Vinci's art still captivates. The man wrote works of art.

And "The Book of Sand and Shakespeare's Memory" brings together two of Borges' shorter collections, with all sorts of surreal twists in a seemingly ordinary world. These rich, slightly uneasy stories are a shining example of why people enjoy Borges -- magical, rich in language, and poignant in their finality.

Interestingly, two of the stories -- one from each collection -- have strikingly similar stories. "August 25, 1983" has Borges stumbling across an older version of himself, dying as he tells Borges a bit about his future. And "The Other" has Borges at Cambridge, where he accidentally bumps into a younger version of himself, whom he imparts some wisdom to.

But the stories are about far stranger things as well -- a hunt for blue tigers that leads to strangely fascinating stones, an alchemist's rose, a poet telling a king of pure beauty and wonder, receiving the hazy memories of Shakespeare, a book with no ending, the ultimate Word, a creepy religious sect, and even a Lovecraftian homage in which a man comes across grotesque aliens in a remote house.

Good luck finding flaws in this book -- Borges' writing is exquisitely detailed and atmospheric, and densely packed with philosophical pockets. And these stories are magical realism in the purest sense, with a slight, almost mystical twist to the everyday events that we take for granted -- being mistaken for someone else, being sold a book, et cetera.

And Borges wraps these stories in lush, digified prose that takes a little while to wade through, but the richness of the words he uses is worth it ("The sin the two of us now share... the sin of having known Beauty, which is a gift forbidden mankind"). He's even able to craft stories very unlike his usual style -- "The Mirror and the Mask" has the style and flavour of an ancient Irish myth.

Perhaps it's because these were Borges' last stories, but there's a very reflective, introspective feeling to many of them -- Borges seems to be glancing back at his life, and ahead to his death. But he doesn't lose his touch for the haunting, almost otherworldly explorations ("Blue Tigers") and the feeling that the unnameable is just a misstep away.

"The Book of Sand and Shakespeare's Memory" is a brilliant collection of Borges' exquisite stories. Magical and gritty, beautiful and haunting -- and sadly, the last work he did.

Speculative fiction writer Harlan Ellison was the one who introduced me to Jorge Luis Borges. In one of his introductions to his story collections, he was saying how he felt unfit to sweep up Borges' shadow, or something like that. He went on further to say that it was a pity that Borges didn't get the Noble Prize for Literature. I agree. As you can probably tell, I'm a HUGE Harlan Ellison fan, but I like Borges just as much. Anyway, this was the first book by Borges that I read, and I was MOST IMPRESSED. Here's what I remember of it: There's a short story in there somewhere where Borges says something to the extent that--the printing press was a bad invention. What! An author, whose very livelyhood depends on the modern methods of printing said THAT?! You'll have to read the story to see his explanation, but I was impressed with it. The Congress is supposed to be one of Borges' favorite stories. Personally, I didn't understand it that well, but I'm not saying that I hate it. My favorite story of the bunch? The Book of Sand. A very well written short story about a book with as many pages as there are grains of sand. The ending reminded me of the ending to Raiders of the Lost Ark in a way. If you like Ellison, Tolkien, Spanish history, literature, etc. you will like Borges a lot!

This is the one that, no matter how many other books you've read about the Brontes, is the best ever. The writer of this book doesn't hoard her knowledge, but shares it in such a way that the reader will be amazed that so much information has never before been made available to us common-folk. This book allows the reader to interpret, rather than tangle through spider webs.

Having purchased this book on a whim, I was delighted to find it so captivating. Barker lets the letters speak for themselves, only occasionally jumping in to clue the reader in on the context of the letters.

The book is broken into chapters by groups of years or phases of happenings with the Brontes. The first part of the book is filled with the letters about the happenings and dreams of the Brontes. In the latter half of the book you get a strong sense of Charlotte's growing isolation as her family vanishes around her in a very brief period of time.

The tragedy of this volume is that there aren't more letters from Emily, Anne, and Branwell. However, through Charlotte's letters you get a strong sense of what her siblings were like (or at least Charlotte's perception of them).

I would highly recommend this book for anyone who is researching the Brontes, or anyone who is just curious, as I was. It has made me want to go back and read Barker's first book on the Brontes, as well as others.

I recommend this book to anyone who is a Bronte fan. Because the letters were written mostly by Charlotte, they are very eloquent and narrative in their descriptions. In her letters, the reader can relate to her feelings of loss and loneliness when Branwell, Emily, and finally Anne passed away. It is truly sad that these 3 sisters were not able to live long lives, and that Emily and Anne did not receive the accolade they deserved while they were alive.

Those of us who admire the Brontes and their works owe a considerable debt to Juliet Barker. The letters provide a window into the lives of this talented family - in their own voices.

Ms Barker has provided just enough information around the letters to enable the reader to understand the context. For those readers who want more information, I recommend Ms Barkers biography 'The Brontes'.

Highly recommended.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

It is one thing to read a biographical account of the terribly short lives of the Brontes, it is quite another to read Charlotte's first-hand account of losing the people dearest to her. As I read her letters, I could sense the solitude at Haworth, feel the miserable weather, and hear the hollow ticking of the clock following each passing. The book is not all somber though. I am a new fan, and this book has left an indellible impression on me.

Two months after reading this collection, many of the stories are still vivid in my mind. I feel like I've stumbled across a modern classic, with fresh storylines, strong characters, and original language.

My favorites include Aunt Frank's Legacy, Remember Us, The Seal Man, and Nave Nave Mahana, but to be honest it's hard to pick any one story out. It's rare to read a book of short fiction where the standard stays so high throughout, but the diversity and richness of this bunch of stories kept me hooked. I read some to my husband as we drove cross-country, and he loved them too.

Saunders is a bold stylist, not afraid of examining both the dark and the tender sides of life. The mood is sometimes funny, sometimes bittersweet, sometimes hauntingly scary. He shows good insight into the ridiculous aspect of human nature and doesn't hesitate to point that up. In some stories I snorted out loud at the witty observations, in others I was scared for what would happen next. Often I was just deeply moved.

I'm looking forward to re-reading soon, and for anyone who enjoys entertaining and literary short fiction, I'd say that Brother is a no-brainer.

In the title story, successful composer Griffin Curzon attempts suicide and his inventor brother tries to resurrect him from his rapid mental decline to the man he once was. In the heart of his illness, Griffin writes in a letter to his brother this apt metaphor for life:

" `Brother,
We see merit in numbers, in sequences. We search for the infinite in variety. We are imbeciles. Every note of music is a whole, deep symphony of sound. Play it soft, than softer still, breath on it, then strike it hard, harder, hit it so it rings on and on, the texture wavering and changing. Then add rhythm, slow, slower, a little bit faster, build it up, rat-ta-tat. There is staccato, legato, on and on and on. One note, one beautiful, indivisible note.'"

In "Aerobatics," a father must face the inevitable changes in his relationship with his adult daughter, and in "The Seal Man," a lonely woman sees hope for herself in the arrival of a stranger to her island. The characters in these pages don't just make do, they transcend their circumstances. And the reader will find a variety of people here: transients who move into an abandoned zoo; an eccentric patron of the arts; a man coming back to his grandmother's house after her death; an infirm man bracing himself for death.

From "Sweet Mercy Leads Me On:"

"Now I'm lying awake trying to think of when I was at my happiest. Because of the drugs I've been given it's difficult to focus on anything but the present. My thoughts zigzag back and forth like a dog let loose in a park, picking up a scent only to discard it when a better one comes along."

Intelligent and sophisticated, these stories showcase Saunders' ability to render imaginative lives and settings in exquisite detail. Each story in the collection is a unique and lively world, yet each carries the mark of a sure hand, and the cohesive glue that binds them together is Saunders' understated brilliance and compassion for his characters.

If you have not already done so, I suggest you purchase a copy of this superb collection. You'll be glad you did.

Tom Saunders has tuned into the deep dark secrets of our world, of happiness and sadness, and has articulated them in the stories collected in "Brother, what strange place is this?".

The title story with the brother Griffin jumping out of a window only to survive and end up in an institution for the insane addresses the title question in an emotional and philosophical way, but really, all the stories in this collection are studies of the same question.

"Aerobatics" is the one that most got to me, the one I can't forget: A father tells his daughter about the time, when he was a boy, that he came home from school to see to his mother crying, "breaking her heart". He explains that up until that moment he was happy and then "suddenly I was landed with this knowledge about my mother...I wasn't prepared for what I saw...I wasn't prepared for a world where that sort of sadness was possible."

You have to be prepared to read this collection. You won't be, of course. Like the little boy who is suddenly faced with the shock of his mother in tears, one can never be prepared to face the depth of the world's sadness (for the boy) or strangeness (for the brother, Griffin).

Yes, I recommend this collection of stories. Tom Saunders is a sensitive and intelligent writer who is concerned with the truth of the human condition.

A Compeling Exploration

Tom Saunders' collection is the work of a true artist.
His writing leads you through a range of human interaction and emotion. In stories like THE RED TRAIN, Saunders tackles subjects that are delicate, controversial at best and with great sensitivity lays it out for the reader to advance conclusions. Without pretense or presumption he offers the reader the opportunity to explore. A true gift Brother, What Strange Place Is This? is a remarkable collection by a remarkable writer.

After decades of minimalism, modernism, postmodernism, and batty maunderings, Saunders' careful, credible storytelling is as an oasis to the parched mind. My own personal favorite in this varied collection, The Calle de Obra Pia, will sit you down on a piano bench next to a man who is hopelessly in love. You may like him--and this is true of all of Saunders' characters--or you may not, but I tell you that you will care about him, you will know him, you will very likely find in him yourself.

And this is the truth that infects Saunders' stories, and draws the reader into them: he does not write about Everyman; instead, he continues to show us variations on the species. None is wholly good nor entirely sympathetic. Each is as imperfect, as yearning, and as capable of greatness in small spaces as are you, as am I.

This collection is clean air. Do yourself a favor.

The Burning Plain is about fifteen emotional stories. The stories give the reader a lot to think about. Many of these stories are short interesting stories that give the reader what to think about, action, sad parts, and contains nasty events when people are killed. We recommend the book to the readers because it is a very interesting book because the way many short stories are put into one book. The book will make the reader feel grossed out because in the ways some people are killed. All of these stories take place in a rural place. For, example Talpa takes place in a village as well as Luvina. In the story Macario the setting is in a house.

One regrettable consequence of Garcia Marquez's fame is that Latin American literature has come to be identified exclusively with "magical realism". Everything has to be extraordinary, epic, full of tropical lust, palms, jaguars, people having sex in every corner, flying to the sky with a pineapple on their heads. But Latin America is a vast continent producing artist of universal stature, even if the rest of the world decides (to their disadvantage) to ignore all but the folkloric.

Well, Juan Rulfo is a master of the highest sort and this book is NOT magical realism, but pure, hard realism. He only wrote two books, this one and "Pedro Paramo", another masterpiece which I also don't count as magical realism, although some do, as well as a few lesser works. He didn't need to write much. His is a literature worked and reworked restlessly, until reaching perfection. Every single word fits perfectly with the rest. There are no digressions, no philosophy, no theories or grand landscapes. All his tales develop in Southern Jalisco, in a poor, dry, vast, sunburned and sad land. The prose is also dry, precise, economical and to the point. The characters are ignorant, miserable, but conscious and courageous. The titles say much: "It's because we are so poor" is one of them. However, you will not find self-pity or corny sad tales. Only bits of human misery perfectly narrated. By the way, this is the first review I write for Amazon in which I use the word "perfect". Probably it won't happen again, with one or two exceptions.

The Burning Plains is a compilation of short stories that Juan Rulfo published on diferent publications at different times. it's also at the moment, besides his masterpiece Pedro Paramo, the only material available.
The shorts stories are chilling, incledibly well written. It's superb, and the english translation more than acceptable.
To me the highlights of the book are "Talpa" and "they have given us the land" (the opener on the spanish version, but some reason is not on this english edition)but the whole book is amazing.
I bought this book for my girfriend as an exorsism from jennifer Wiener's "Good in Bed" I was worried about the translation but it didn't dissapoint me.
the ideal way to read The Burning Plain is in spanish, but since this book is not that surreal as pedro paramo is, this tranlation works just fine.
I hope this brief note helps you to choose a good book.

Rulfo's style, like his stories, is sparse, quiet, and often harsh. He offers disturbing tales of miserable people in barren places; yet there is also a strange beauty to be found in his work. I can think of few, if any, examples of such perfect prose. The characters--though they suffer--seem close at hand and perfectly real, and he gives the most incredible descriptions of landscapes that I have ever read in my life. It is easy to see his connection to "magical realism"--it is largely in the way he sets the tone of the stories, and in those unbelievably vivid descriptions--but his work does not fall into that category. There is no escaping the terribly blunt reality he creates.

Whether you are interested in Latin American literature or not, if you are at all interested in prose, you should read this book.

ANGST. This is the best word to describe the human landscape that Rulfo has portrayed in this collection of short stories. A lanscape of extreme sorrow that blossoms over the arid plain, where poverty, opression and ignorance intermingle with faith to shape the tragedy of the post-revolutionary rural Mexico. A tragedy that has lived over 70 years and that may help explaining the nature of the mexican people, their doings and fears. But moreover its social meanings, Juan Rulfo, has created a masterpiece of storytelling, not only at the Latin-american level, but rather as an universal gift. This is not magic realism alà Garcia Marquez or Isabel Allende. This is bare boned reality, told with the beauty and the ease that just a master can reach, in which the words mix perfectly for creating short bursts of narrative, perfectly solved stories, that will fill the mind, the mouth and the eyes of the reader with the burnt sand of the plains, with the ashes of the dead, with the tears of the desperate. If you're ready to follow Tanilo's bloody footsteps toward Talpa, to hunt toads with Macario, or to fall under the spell of Niño Anacleto's preaching, or under the spell of misterious rural Mexico, dive into the pages of this collection of short stories, and compare it with any other you have already read, and you will understand why Rulfo never writed any further. Because he almost reached perfection.